Yarmouth, Plymouth Receive State Grant Funding To Improve Water Quality

YARMOUTH – Governor Charlie Baker’s administration recently awarded $346,292 in grants to a handful of communities in the Commonwealth to fund water quality projects, and Yarmouth and Plymouth are among the recipients.

The funding is provided by the Office of Coastal Zone Management’s Coastal Pollutant Remediation Grant Program, and supports local efforts to address and treat polluted runoff from roads and paved surfaces to protect coastal water quality.

Yarmouth will be using its $64,950 to research and build a bioretention stormwater treatment system, which aims to combat a common problem on Cape Cod.

“We’re looking to make some progress with nitrogen and nutrient removal in general and this is a way for us to do that with regards to stormwater,” Yarmouth DPW Director Jeff Colby said.

A location has not been determined, as the town wants to the system to be in an area that will have the most impact.

“Part of the grant is to identify sites,” Colby said. “We have some in mind, but we want to do a more comprehensive review of locations to pick the best one for us to pilot.”

Plymouth is receiving $59,910, and will use its funds to advance a stormwater assessment conducted in 2015 to design and permit stormwater treatment systems in Great Herring Pond, which provides habitat for river herring in an active run that links the pond to the Cape Cod Canal.